“Lynnwood nonprofit helps clothe kids, respectfully - msnbc.com” plus 1 more |
| Lynnwood nonprofit helps clothe kids, respectfully - msnbc.com Posted: 06 Jan 2011 12:09 AM PST LOCAL NEWS — LYNNWOOD — Volunteers try to make Clothes for Kids look and feel like a department store. Except this one has no cash register. The Lynnwood nonprofit provided free wardrobes to more than 5,200 children throughout Snohomish County during the past school year. Qualifying families, whose kids receive free or reduced school lunches, are referred to Clothes for Kids by school districts. A few other nonprofits in Snohomish County have a similar mission. Families can shop twice a year, for light clothes and warm clothes. The store is open for shopping about 16 hours a week. Families are greeted by volunteers as they come in the door. "We try to deliver in the most respectful manner that we can," said Nancy Laird-Burris, Clothes for Kids program manager. "How many lines do our families have to stand in to prove they are poor?" Children's books are laid out on a table near the entrance. Most are used, but, as Laird-Burris likes to say, a used book reads as well as a new one. Shoppers get a basket and a list of items they are eligible to receive. Pants, dresses, jackets and shoes all wait for their new owners. The Edmonds School District also sends unclaimed backpacks and jackets from its lost-and-found room. Local stores, community service groups and individual families keep donations coming in a steady stream but it's hardly enough. The shop gets a lot of donations in December, when many organizations sponsor clothing drives, but they need more throughout the year. More than three quarters of donations are used, but many look new. Volunteers wash, mend and iron clothes before putting them on shelves and hangers. Some donations are too "well loved," as Laird-Burris puts it. The clothes volunteers can't use for some reason are passed along to a local charity. The rest goes to fabric recycling. Clothes for Kids is open August through May. The busiest time is September, when kids are eager to get new back-to-school clothes. Volunteers serve up to 100 kids a day. In the winter, it's between 20 and 40 kids a day. Laird-Burris started at Clothes for Kids eight years ago as a volunteer to get away "from the stress of raising teenagers." She was hired later to be program manager, the only full-time staff member. She has a part-time assistant and a contract grant writer. And almost 70 volunteers. Wanda Anselment of Edmonds has volunteered at Clothes for Kids for almost five years. "It's actually my stress reliever," she said, hauling bags of clothes one afternoon during Christmas week. Anselment works at Spruce Elementary, a school with a high percentage of kids receiving free or reduced lunches. Anselment promised herself years ago that she would take up volunteering when her son was old enough to drive. She came to Clothes for Kids as soon as Chase, now a sophomore at the University of Washington, got his driver's license. She puts in about 25 hours a week in the summer. When she sorts clothes, Anselment smiles when she imagines kids wearing them. After all, when some little girl shows off her new dress, no one will know her parents didn't buy it. Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452; kyefimova@heraldnet.com. Help out To learn about how to sponsor a clothes drive or make a donation, go to www.clothesforkids.org or call 425-741-6500. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| UK kids' author whose book inspired "Babe" dies - Boston Globe Posted: 06 Jan 2011 05:24 AM PST LONDON—British children's author Dick King-Smith, whose novel "The Sheep-Pig" inspired the hit movie "Babe," has died at the age of 88. His publisher, Random House Children's Books, said in a statement that the writer died in his sleep early Tuesday morning at his home near Bath, about 100 miles west of London, after suffering from poor health in recent years. King-Smith was honored by Queen Elizabeth II when he received an OBE last year for his services to children's literature. The writer worked for 20 years as a farmer before he trained as a primary school teacher. In his 50s, he began to write his first story, "The Fox Busters," about chickens taking their revenge on foxes. The book was published in 1978. He has published over 100 books -- mostly about animals and often about pigs, his favorite -- which have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The 1995 Oscar-winning movie "Babe," based on his story about a pig that behaves like a sheepdog, made his books a global hit. He once said of his work: "Much as I love 'The Wind In The Willows' and the works of Beatrix Potter, I never dress my animals in clothes ... They behave as animals should behave, with the exception that they open their mouths and speak the Queen's English." "Dick was one of the kindest and funniest authors, and a delight to publish," said Annie Eaton, a publisher at Random House. Eaton added that despite enjoying Hollywood success with the film of his novel "The Sheep-Pig," he "stayed firmly grounded and was quite unspoilt." His family said in a statement that King-Smith leaves behind his second wife Zona, three children, 14 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a great-great grandchild. © Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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